Valeska Paris cites new Supreme Court opinion, asks court to reconsider arbitration ruling
Citing a May 23 US Supreme Court ruling about arbitration disputes, attorneys for Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter have asked the Tampa federal court to reconsider its ruling forcing their labor trafficking lawsuit into Scientology’s “religious arbitration.”
The three Australian residents sued in Tampa in 2022 over allegations that Scientology abused them as children and adults working in the Sea Organization and aboard Scientology’s cruise ship, the Freewinds. But Judge Thomas Barber ruled that contracts the three had signed contained arbitration clauses and obligated them not to sue the church but instead to submit to its internal form of arbitration.
Judge Barber admitted that he felt conflicted about the ruling, saying that it surprised him that he couldn’t, for example, consider their allegations that they had signed their contracts under duress, because existing Supreme Court rulings suggested that it was the arbitrators, not the court, that could consider such an argument.
An indication of how unsettled he was by his own ruling, Judge Barber granted Valeska’s request to petition the Eleventh Circuit for an interlocutory appeal, but the appeals court denied the petition.
Now, Valeska’s attorneys are saying that a May 23 ruling by the Supreme Court in Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski clarifies the situation and it now does allow the court to consider duress and other claims about an arbitration obligation that previously had been reserved for arbitrators, the very thing that had so shocked Judge Barber…
At the time, the Court found that result “surprising and shocking,” but felt that its “hands [were] tied” by existing Supreme Court case law. Now that Suski has clarified the controlling law, this Court should grant reconsideration and avoid that “surprising and shocking” outcome by hearing and adjudicating Plaintiffs’ challenges to the arbitration agreement.
The new Supreme Court ruling, in other words, should allow Judge Barber to listen to the claims of duress and other complaints by Valeska and the Baxters which he previously believed he couldn’t assess. And Judge Barber has the ability to reconsider his ruling because the Supreme Court has literally changed the underlying law his previous ruling was based on.
Reconsideration is especially necessary here to prevent injustice. As the Court recognized, it is a “shocking” result for Plaintiffs to be forced into Scientology arbitration under an agreement they contend—supported by compelling evidence— was never formed in the first place because it was procured by duress and fraud in the execution. And now that the Supreme Court has clarified that such a result is not required by its case law, it would be unjust to uphold it.
And one reason it would be unjust to put Valeska and the Baxters through Scientology’s arbitration? Because of the shocking things they are putting Valerie Haney through in California.
While compelling arbitration under an agreement that was never formed due to duress or fraud would be unjust in any arbitration, it is especially so here because, since the motions to compel arbitration were decided, new evidence has come to light confirming Plaintiffs’ argument that the Scientologist arbitrators—who are controlled by Defendants—will not give Plaintiffs a fair hearing on the issue whether they signed the agreements under duress, including that Plaintiffs will be denied an attorney to represent them and prevented from presenting evidence or witnesses to support their duress argument. See Pl.’s Post-Arb. Hearing Status Rep., Haney v. Church of Scientology Int’l, No. 19STCV21210 (Cal. Super. Ct. Nov. 6, 2023)
Wow! It is so good to see someone paying attention to the insane abuse Scientology is making Valerie Haney endure.
So, based on the Supreme Court’s new ruling, and the clarity on the issue that would allow Judge Barber to take into account Valeska’s evidence about duress and other complaints, her attorneys are asking the Judge to back things up and this time take those arguments into account before rendering a verdict about whether they should be forced into arbitration.
We don’t know if Judge Barber will grant the motion, but we have to say that this is an excellent document, argued cogently and clearly, and we really look forward to seeing how Scientology will respond.
UPDATE: We also want to add something that was in a footnote to the motion. Valeska’s attorneys are arguing that whatever happens to the case against the Church of Scientology entities, the lawsuit should not be considered forced into arbitration as far as defendant David Miscavige is concerned. Nor is it stayed. Miscavige never personally filed a motion to force arbitration against the case, and he was declared an official defendant in the lawsuit by the court. He should be compelled to answer the lawsuit and it should proceed against him normally.
We look forward to his response on that!
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Valeska Paris and the Baxters and their lawyers deserve kudos. The unraveling of Scientology’s unjust, inhuman protective mechanism has been an uphill battle. Hubbard was a clever and devious sociopath..
He built a pyramid of policies and advices to protect his criminal empire. Without the continued exposure and legal challenges of many brave souls Scientology would not be shrinking as fast as it is.
Like a virulent virus we cannot rest until it is eradicated from the world. Thanks to Valeska and the Baxters for pushing forward.
While Valerie Haney is suffering enforced abuse at the hands of a court order, others are battling to ensure that abuse stops. At some point, the fact that a “volunteer” or a “ religious penitent” is even signing secular contracts should make a court, or preferably a government say “enough, this is not a religion.”